schmuckingham Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Wow, I figured they would have taken cold weather into account with a battery warmer. I thought GM had done better with it. Might want to consider soft snow tires. I'm sure those ultra-hard eco tires aren't going to like the winter at all. Its a free car.... so no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Its a free car.... so no Ahh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiji ST Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 I had a Cruze rental about two weeks ago to buzz up to Akron. Overall, it is light-years ahead of the Cobalt. That may not be saying much, but it was a vastly improved car. Put a better engine in there and I think it would be a good competitor to the Focus and the Mazda3 as a driver's car. Could this car have saved GM, though? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontiacfreak142 Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 I had a Cruze rental about two weeks ago to buzz up to Akron. Overall, it is light-years ahead of the Cobalt. That may not be saying much, but it was a vastly improved car. Put a better engine in there and I think it would be a good competitor to the Focus and the Mazda3 as a driver's car. Could this car have saved GM, though? No. I agree with you on this, except i do think as is, they could have been a major help in saving GM. I say yes simply because most people these days dont give 2 shits about how a car handles or how much power it has, hell if they did, small cars would never sell in the first place. Your average person these days that is shopping for a small car will see that it holds 4 people comfortably, has a decent interior and gets 42 mpg. On the other hand, there are people out there like us that do care about that kind of stuff. would i run out and buy a cruze? maybe, no it wouldnt be my first choice, but if i needed something cheap and that got good mileage to just replace my bonneville, i would. Would i much rather save up and spend the little extra on a G8 GT, fuck yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 It's funny how almost every review I've read of the Cruze is positive, but people on CR rip on it. Are the rental cars member's have driven 1.4LT's or 1.8L's? I've been in a few 1.4LT's and I think they're pretty good cars. I say yes simply because most people these days dont give 2 shits about how a car handles or how much power it has, hell if they did, small cars would never sell in the first place. I would beg to differ. There are/were plenty of small cars that are great handling cars that people buy for this reason. (GTI, Mini, 1 Series, some Focus's, Mazda 3/Protege, Integra/Civic Si, etc...) I think most small cars actually sell themselves on the 'fun-to-drive' aspect. Now, times are changing and fuel economy is the focus, but there is also a broader demographic buying small cars today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmuckingham Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 It's funny how almost every review I've read of the Cruze is positive, but people on CR rip on it. Are the rental cars member's have driven 1.4LT's or 1.8L's? I've been in a few 1.4LT's and I think they're pretty good cars. Wasn't the power or the handling but the interior. Everything felt like ass and my Wife and I both sat WAY too high to be comfortable with no adjustment. First thing that bothered me after that was I couldn't see out of it very well...... kind of like a tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Can we ban anyone who uses the words: Cruze MPG ECO FRIENDLY COBALT SONIC Ect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Can we ban anyone who uses the words: Cruze MPG ECO FRIENDLY COBALT SONIC Ect. Ban yourself. You want to go for a great MPG race in my ECO friendly Cobalt after we check out the new Cruze and Sonic down at the windmill? :dumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Wasn't the power or the handling but the interior. Everything felt like ass and my Wife and I both sat WAY too high to be comfortable with no adjustment. First thing that bothered me after that was I couldn't see out of it very well...... kind of like a tank My only complaint was the seats. I think they are way too firm. I didn't have a problem with adjustments, but I'm not tall. Visibility out of a lot of new cars is an issue IMO. Some cars, like the Camaro, 370Z, etc. feel like a rolling duck blind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Ban yourself. You want to go for a great MPG race in my ECO friendly Cobalt after we check out the new Cruze and Sonic down at the windmill? :dumb: Cobalt VS A4. DEAL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Cobalt VS A4. DEAL I'm not going for any kind of drive in my wife's shitbox Cobalt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 I'm not going for any kind of drive in my wife's shitbox Cobalt. I win by default. :fuckyeah: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airwg2189 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) The short answer is yes. The long answer entails WHY. What was missing at GM was a passion for its products. The enthusiasts weren't in a position of power, and the managers focused on the cost knew nothing about what content they shouldn't remove from a vehicle. Their vehicles had no passion (sans Corvette), they weren't fun to drive, and they weren't class leaders. There were too many paper pushers focused on a release date instead of being focused on making a world class product, even if it meant $2.50 more per car and a delayed release. Lutz recognised this and had the company on a path to turn it around, and the fruits of that are the products you mentioned, plus the new Malibu, Equinox, Volt, CTS, SRX, LaCrosse, etc. The economy crashed before this product could hit the market though. So yes, the Cruze and Sonic could have saved GM's product line/sales/slipping market share, but not simply because of the product, but because the ideaology within the company has changed. The Pontiac brand needed to be realigned as an affordable, fun-to-drive brand, while Saturn needed to be GM's Scion; a brand that used previous generation platforms from their other brands which the bugs worked out. Those brands lost thier mission over the years and I could go much more in-depth on my thoughs of what they SHOULD have been, but that's another topic. Clay, I think that AB review of the Malibu Eco was overly harsh. The guy wanted to hate it. He even went so far as to compare the price with destination to a Camry minus destination. Why not compare apples to apples? What I got out of the review is that it is quiet, rides nice, has nicely weighted steering, and gets great highway mileage. Looks are subjective. I've seen a few in person and they're not bad. AB didn't even bother washing the car for their 'beauty shots.' This was also the ECO model, which is tuned for efficiency. I'm looking forward to seeing the 2.0LT models and how they compare to the Regal. Agreed, minus the Corvette part. Even that car, albeit amazing, is incredibly overpriced. For $100k+, I will be buying something foreign. Hell, even at $50k for a base model, I'd rather have something else. That's Mustang Boss Laguna Seca money with plenty left over for celebration champagne after you walk a base Corvette around any track in America. Ultimately, for just about every GM model, the problem is that you can get more car for the money elsewhere. The Sonic and the Cruze, and even the CTS-V for what it is, are certainly a step in the right direction towards this issue, though, but it's obviously too late. Toyota's had their Camry looking "cooler" for years now, and the Honda Civic is still piss cheap and runs forever with very little maintenance. Chevrolet's cheap mass-market shit doesn't last nearly as long as Honda's, Ford's, Toyota's, and every mass-market Chevrolet vehicle looks about as bland as a barn. Plus, the depreciation is absurd. You have to be an (ex)employee or a diehard fanboy to legitimize any new GM purchase right now. Edited December 22, 2011 by airwg2189 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Agreed, minus the Corvette part. Even that car, albeit amazing, is incredibly overpriced. For $100k+, I will be buying something foreign. Hell, even at $50k for a base model, I'd rather have something else. That's Mustang Boss Laguna Seca money with plenty left over for celebration champagne after you walk a base Corvette around any track in America. Ultimately, for just about every GM model, the problem is that you can get more car for the money elsewhere. This is a mentality that I do not understand. Why does everyone seem to feel that American cars should be cheaper than the rest of the market? With a $100k Corvette you get active suspension, carbon fiber construction, carbon ceremic brakes, supercharged all-aluminum engine with dry sump oil system, forged steel crank, forged titanium rods, forged aluminum pistons, lightweight wheels, etc. Where else do you get that for cheaper? Sure, the seats could be better, but there's no reason (and no way) that you could get this kind of hardware at a cheaper price. Also, what do you think is cheaper? Where can you get more for less? Most Ford models are thousands more than GM. Toyota? Honda? The only one's I can think of off hand would be the Korean's. Sure, the Laguna Seca BOSS 302 is a hell of a bargain at $48k when a base Vette costs $49k, but I see that as an exceptional exception. The LSB 302 is an awesome car that I would love to have in my garage. I see this as a case of the Mustang being a bargain, not the Vette being over priced. The Sonic and the Cruze, and even the CTS-V for what it is, are certainly a step in the right direction towards this issue, though, but it's obviously too late. The CTS has done well and they sell 25k Cruze's a month, and, even though you didn't mention it, there's a couple month wait if you want an Equinox. Doesn't look like it's too late to me. PLUS, the CTS-V is thousands cheaper than the M3. So much for getting more for less. Toyota's had their Camry looking "cooler" for years now, and the Honda Civic is still piss cheap and runs forever with very little maintenance. Chevrolet's cheap mass-market shit doesn't last nearly as long as Honda's, Ford's, Toyota's, and every mass-market Chevrolet vehicle looks about as bland as a barn. Plus, the depreciation is absurd. You have to be an (ex)employee or a diehard fanboy to legitimize any new GM purchase right now. The depreciation on their newer cars isn't bad at all. Check out used prices of the newer CTS, SRX, Equinox, Cruze, Lacrosse, Regal, etc. They're all holding their values well. My opinion is that the Camry interior is just as plastic-y, if not more so, than most of their rivals. They've been selling on this reputation of remarkable quality, but their quality and content are slipping. The inside of their cars just feels cheap to me (minus the Avalon). The last Corolla I drove was a pile of shit. I'm not an employee, ex-employee, or fanboy. I'm a realist who has driven a lot of cars during development. I live in the Detroit area and have a vested interest in the health of all the American manufacturers, as well as the Japanese, since I work for a Japanese company. I believe the new products coming out of Detroit (GM, Ford, and even Chysler) are competitive in their classes and don't deserve some of the rep thay have been given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airwg2189 Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 GT-R vs. ZR1. Fiesta vs. Sonic. Civic vs. Cruze. (could go either way, they're both cheap junk) and nobody can compete with the Sonata (comparable would be Malibu/Impala I guess?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.